Houlihan Lokey Advises Box to Box Films

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Box To Box Films, the multi-award-winning production company, has received a significant minority investment from Bruin Capital, the industry-leading growth investment and buyout specialist in global sports. The transaction completed on 19 December 2023.

Founded in 2016 by Academy Award®-winning producer James Gay-Rees and Emmy-winning producer Paul Martin, Box To Box has become one of the industry's fastest-growing production houses. Renowned for its groundbreaking international hit series “Formula 1: Drive-to-Survive”, Box To Box has produced multiple highly popular series in the sports space. The award-winning production company is based in London, Los Angeles, and Paris and specialises in high-end feature documentaries, documentary series, and formatted factual entertainment, becoming the benchmark for premium documentaries, producing compelling and innovative content using thoughtful, insightful storytelling that challenges the norms of the traditional documentary format—both in the sports world and beyond.

Bruin-backed companies have combined operations in 51 countries, with more than 4,000 employees. It is the only investment vehicle solely dedicated to developing international sports growth businesses. Since launching in 2015, Bruin has concluded more than 30 deals. Notable exits have been On Location, a joint venture with the NFL, plus additional secondaries and Deltatre, the international media technology company.

With this fresh Bruin investment, the company will expand into self-financed projects as well as new verticals (i.e. digital, branded, and scripted) while also exploring strategic M&A. Box To Box will continue to be led by Gay-Rees, Martin, and company Managing Director Samantha Lawrence, who will look to expand the senior management teams in Los Angeles and London.

Houlihan Lokey served as exclusive financial advisor to Box to Box Films, supporting all aspects of the transaction, including marketing, structuring of a competitive process, coordination of due diligence, and negotiating key deal terms. This transaction further enhances Houlihan Lokey’s market-leading digital media and entertainment sector coverage.